Clippers Keys to Victory Over the Rockets

By Connor Aylward
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Updated: May 4, 2015

(Photo via Twitter User BleacherReport.com)

Regular Season Results:

HOU: 85 – LAC: 102
HOU: 95 – LAC: 110
HOU: 110 – LAC: 105
HOU: 100 – LAC: 98

*Home Teams Italicised

James Harden had an MVP caliber season. Averaging 27.4 points per game, 7 assists and 5.7 rebounds the only person who could have stopped him from winning the award was Stephen Curry. Harden had some regular season success against the Clippers, lets check out his numbers game by game:

Game 1: 16 points, 6 assists, 4 rebounds, 5 turnovers

Game 2: 9 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds, 5 turnovers

Game 3: 21 points, 10 assists, 4 rebounds

Game 4: 34 points, 7 assists, 7 rebounds

After looking at the numbers The Clippers need to rewatch tape from Game 2 of the season series as what they were doing defensively proved to be successful. With Rockets starting Point Guard Patrick Beverley out for the postseason, the Clippers best bet is to put wiry point guard Chris Paul in front of the MVP candidate. While Chris is struggling right now with a hamstring injury that could potentially keep him out of game 1, if he returns healthy there is little doubt that Chris could cover Harden better than any other defender the Clippers could put on the floor even with the high disparity between the two.

Winning the Battle in the Paint

Laker fans, your favorite player is wearing number twelve for Houston as you know. If the Clippers plan on winning this series, DeAndre Jordan has to be able to box out and keep Dwight Howard from winning the rebounding battle. That is not the easiest of tasks. Dwight Howard averaged 10.2 rebounds per game this season, which isn’t even close to Jordan’s 15 rebounds per game however, Jordan did not have to face the physical presence down low that Howard is every single game.

Now that we’ve covered the Center’s for this matchup lets look at the other guys in the paint, the Power Forwards. The Rockets boast depth at the Power Forward position with Terrence Jones and former All-Star Josh Smith. Jones only averaged 6.7 rebounds per game while Smith averaged 6.4. The Clippers Power Forward situation is definitely a strength with Blake Griffin starting at the position, averaging 7.6 rebounds per game and a team high 21.9 points per game while his backup Glen “Big Baby” Davis averages only 2.3 rebounds per game but has played significantly less time than the other power forwards in this series.

In order for the Clippers to win the battle of the paint in this series it will be crucial for Griffin and Jordan to win their positional battles. Howard tends to use his size and strength to take opposing Center’s out of the game while DeAndre has a similar tactic so that is the matchup I am most intrigued to watch in this series. Houston will try to use their two Power Forwards to wear down Griffin in the low block but I don’t see the All-Star Griffin budging down low.

Chris Paul’s Health

I think it’s safe to say that we can all thank Chris Paul for getting us to the semifinals. His heroics in game seven versus San Antonio willed the Clippers to a 111-109 victory. However because of his incredible hustle, Paul over exerted himself and had to leave the game early on with a hamstring injury only to return and win the Clippers the game on one leg. In game one versus Houston though Paul’s availability is questionable as he will be in today’s shootaround it will not be for long.

At the end of game seven Paul said he will be spending much of the next few days on the training table with Clippers trainer Jasen Powell. If Paul is able to return for tonight’s game one I may be starting a Powell chant from my couch here in Lincoln. However if Paul is questionable tonight, I would prefer the Clippers remain cautious and sit the “Point God” just for one game and allow him to rest.

This would place the Clippers guard responsibilities into the hands of Jamal Crawford and Austin Rivers. Crawford, a two-time sixth man of the year award winner is known to change his game when starting as compared to coming off the bench. This would be a good thing for Los Angeles as the Clippers would need Crawford to take down his number of shots and spread the ball around the floor to other scorers. Austin Rivers has impressed since his arrival from Boston and Paul has even called him the leader of the team’s second unit. Rivers is more of a true point guard than Crawford is however he is not as controlled on the floor as the crafty veteran Crawford is.

My Prediction: Clippers win the series in 6. 4-2.

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